December was a mixed sales bag for many pickup truck makers, but several finished the year with 13 to 18 percent gains over 2012, with Ram and Honda leading the pack, finishing over 20 percent year over year. The Ford F-Series came within a whisker of selling 75,000 pickups this month (if you don't add in F-650), with the Nissan Frontier crushing its numbers from last year, up 46 percent over the previous December.

The pickup truck segment finished with 2013 sales well more than 2 million units and will likely finish strong in 2014. Two all-new offerings are coming to market at the end of the year (the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon) as well as a new Ford F-150 and possible Nissan Titan. F-150, Titan and Ridgeline sales are likely to be a little shaky in 2014 due to production shifts and plant modifications. We'll have a more detailed look at the various pickup truck segments of 2013 as we dive deeper into the year-end sales numbers in the coming weeks.

To see the fastest and slowest selling vehicles for the month, click here.

Editor's note:This post was updated on Jan. 7 to correct an error in the sales chart.

Ford is giving the best discounts, friend just got a new 2013 F-150 4x4 SC, STX with the 3.7 V6 for $24,700 and the 2013 Chevy Silverado 4x4 with 4.3 V6 was $32K .

Posted by: Tom | Jan 3, 2014 3:08:48 PM

the answer is clear.
We see what the Clear-cut go-to choice is for consumers. Not only does the ford F-series have class leading options and technology, and reliability. The F-series truck also delivers earth shattering Performance compared to its competitors.

The numbers are clear, the people have chosen, the lords of hard work and play have spoken.

as with every year. 2014, The year of the Ford F-series.
Just sell your rusty fender ram shakey jake machine and move on.

Posted by: ethan | Jan 3, 2014 3:09:05 PM

-16%

But I thought Chevy fans said the Chevy wasn't selling because it was the oldest?

Newest truck. Biggeest drop in sales.

Posted by: Dave | Jan 3, 2014 3:12:10 PM

The tundra sold 744 more units than last December but its posted as a negative...

Posted by: Jes | Jan 3, 2014 3:23:49 PM

@Tom,

Good luck to your friend. He just bought a truck that you cannot give away. There's a reason the local Ford dealer took a big discount. In Florida where I live the Ford lots are overflowing with used 3.7 Six F150s that they cannot give away.

@PUTC
This is great news for GM's new Colorado. With Nissan's Frontier doing so well there's real market sentiment for a mid sizer, something I have not believed until seeing this story. You can't argue with real numbers..

Let's see if Nissan dealers can actually continue that trend or is it just a brief blip?

"Ford raised incentives a whopping 22 percent last month as it sparred with Chevrolet and GMC over pickup truck sales and battled for small-car buyers, Dominique said. Hyundai/Kia incentives were up nearly 18 percent, while Honda raised its deals by almost 15 percent, according to TrueCar. Ford Focus buyers, for instance, could get as much as 25 percent off the sticker price, according to Dominique. Only Chrysler, which traditionally has had high incentives, cut them in December, by 9 percent."
Source: Newsday

People love Cash on hoods. Don't blame them. If they're giving it away why not take one.

Another year in the books. I'm kind of surprised that car sales were that strong. You don't see that wealth on day to day basis when dealing with ordinary people. I would say they're still struggling to recover from '08-'09.

Posted by: Chevy Guy | Jan 3, 2014 3:28:21 PM

Imagine what Ford sales will do when the aluminum F-150 comes out? That thing is going to offer best-in-class fuel economy AND incredibly performance. GM, Ram, and Toyota - look out!

I'm amazed that chevy/gmc full size combined sold more than ford a few years ago and is now 100,000 units behind. They really hurt themselves the last few years and I'm worried the 2014 model redesigns won't be good enough to make up for that (though I haven't driven one yet), especially with a redesigned f-150 next year and ram picking up steam. That said I would probably buy a chevy if it is significantly less money than the new f-150.

Posted by: Beebe | Jan 3, 2014 3:41:29 PM

So when Ford has a brand new truck and still out sells the competition what are the Gm fan boy excuses gonna be then? I hope ram over takes them because im tired of listening to them whine.

Posted by: freedomidi86 | Jan 3, 2014 3:45:02 PM

See the bias against Toyota is showing! The Tundra sold more units in 2013 than 2012 but the diagram shows it being negative!

I feel bad for Chevy's #'s, brand new truck and they put up a -16% from last Dec.

Toyota sold a total of 272,217 trucks in 2013 (Tacoma + Tundra sales)

Posted by: John | Jan 3, 2014 3:52:56 PM

@papa jim
I'm also surprised at those Frontier numbers. I've driven the Navara and compared to even the New Colorado we have the Frontier is verging on agricultural.

The Taco and Frontier might be up for some competition.

I can't explain how the Hilux and Navara are the two best sellers. Odd. This proves there might be hope for the 'substandard' Chev 1/2 ton.

If you guys can get the global Ranger with the US spec'd 3.2 diesel to compete against the US Colorado would really be great. The global Ranger and BT50 sibling are a notch above and the VW Amarok is also better.

If you combine the Taco and Tundra sales it appears they are outselling Ram (excluding HDs).

It would be nice to get an actual breakdown of the 1/2 full size on its own or combine it with a midsizer as they are closer in actual use and potential consumer use. I think there is a larger void between a full size 1/2 ton and a HD.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Jan 3, 2014 3:53:43 PM

Is the Frontier numbers up so much because of the loss of the Ford Ranger? If I was in the market for another truck I'd trade my Ranger for a Nissan Frontier.

Posted by: GoFaster58 | Jan 3, 2014 3:55:04 PM

GM is blaming low sales on a lack of regular cabs in conference calls.

the Tundra shows negative 7.2% for 2012vs2013 and it should be positive.

Posted by: hemi lol | Jan 3, 2014 4:47:10 PM

@freedomidi86,
Nobody is blaming anything. It is what it is. Ford sold more. Good for them. I don't really care.
I don't remember which month it was this year that GM sold more trucks than Ford, but since then Ford has been so incentive heavy it's actually unprecedented.
For years we read from Ford boys how Ford has it's business in order. How they focus on profits instead of sales numbers. 20/80. Blah, blah, blah... Ford heard footsteps and acted. They did what they thought was necessary to fend off GM. Sell cheaper sacrificing profits. People lately will sacrifice a lot for a good deal. You know that.
Every new GM vehicle that hit dealer lot last year is a success. Ford can't compete head to head.
25% off sticker price on Focuses!!!? Wasn't this car just redesigned? They didn't make a dime on any sale!
Is that a business formula Ford and some of you have been yapping about?

Posted by: Chevy Guy | Jan 3, 2014 5:01:39 PM

@ CDN Dodge Ram Owner

Technically he is right. If you were to consider Tundra foreign then you must consider Ram foreign too since they both are owned by foreign companies.

Tundra's are built in the Texas and the I-Force 5.7L is made in Alabama. Tundra is made by Toyota Motor North America, Inc based in New York, New York. Toyota Motor North America is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation which is based in Toyota, Japan.

The Ram 1500 is made in Michigan while the Hemi 5.7L and the 2500/3500 are made in Mexico. Ram is a division of Chrysler Group LLC. Chrysler Group is based in Michigan and is a Subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A.. Fiat is based in Turin, Italy.

Both trucks are made in America (besides the Ram 2500/3500). Only the I-force is made in America while the Hemi is made in Mexico. Both are divisions of American company that is a subsidiary of a foreign company. Call it what you want to make you feel better, but facts are facts that don't change no matter what you want to believe. If you call Tundra foreign then you must call Ram foreign going by the same standards. Like I said, facts are facts and just because you are not willing to believe the sky is blue in the middle of the day doesn't mean it isn't regardless of how you don't want it to be true.

On that note, there is nothing wrong with anyone owning a Tundra or Ram if that is what floats their boat regardless of it is considered foreign or not.

Posted by: ALL1 | Jan 3, 2014 5:08:21 PM

@ALL1
You are correct in your assumption.

Both pickups are designed in the US and both are/will be completely owned by an offshore company.

Take my BT50, it's designed in Australia, built in Thailand and 'owned' by an offshore company. That would be no different than buying a Ram manufactured in Mexico.

What this shows is it really doesn't matter to much to where.

Posted by: Big Al from Oz | Jan 3, 2014 5:37:31 PM

In addition to all HD's, Ram LD regular cab configurations are made in Mexico. Commercial truck sales are a strong part of Ram truck sales and they primarly buy regular cabs. So Ram with the takeover from the Italians happening on January 20th and many of their trucks assembled in Mexico may become more foreign than Toyota. Keep an eye on this.

Posted by: DT | Jan 3, 2014 5:39:34 PM

I love rebates and incentives. GM must be digging deep to find excuses for selling 8000 less trucks this December than last, with the newest truck on the market. Newest isn't most desirable if these sales figures are accurate. Tough times ahead for GM.

Posted by: CreigMac | Jan 3, 2014 5:44:44 PM

freedomidi86,

The only one I hear whining is YOU. RAM isn't going to overtake GM anytime soon, if ever. The F-150 isn't a bad truck and if you can get $13,000 off sticker to boot, why wouldn't you go that route? Same could be said for the GMT-900 Silverado/Sierra. They weren't bad trucks and GM was putting $12-$13,000 on the hood. So they sold well.

haha. Amazing that some of you think ford can "give away" their vehicles all year long and "not make a profit on a single focus". And yet they come through the year with an 8.5 billion dollar profit in 2013? Maybe they just know how to efficiently produce vehicles that have great value for the money? You do have somewhat of a point though, it might be a while before we see these incentives again after the 2015 truck goes on sale. I expect ford's truck sales to take a hit due to a lack of incentives next year. I could be wrong though. It was hard to get an incentive on an f250 with the 6.7 when it first came out. You could get a comparable Cummins for 5 to 10k less in my area, and yet the F250 stayed strong in sales. My biggest worry for the 2015 f-150 is the price.

Beebe,
25% off sticker price on new Focuses was for December. F150 heavy incentives were for most of the year thou and especially last quarter or so. Ford just went crazy with rebates.

I don't think new F150 will be any more expensive then new Silverado. You can expect about 2K more, somewhat similar to what Chevy did with Silverado.

Posted by: Chevy Guy | Jan 3, 2014 7:02:20 PM

@GoFaster58 - There's no real reason for the Frontier's sales to be so dismal. Great truck. But Nissan killed off all regular cabs a while back, so that might be you're answer. We love us those reg cabs. Regular cab Nissan Hard Bodys are still absolutely everywhere. However, Toyota is cancelling the reg cab Tacomas next year, so the result will be very interesting, since GM won't offer reg cab Colorado/Canyon twins. The market will find equilibrium at around 100,000 mid-size trucks for each of these 3 OEMs.

Posted by: DenverlllMike | Jan 3, 2014 7:03:41 PM

Wow, you can really see the bias on this site when the Tundra clearly sold more month over month, yet they posted it as a negative sales number.

@ Chevy Guy: I had one of those 2006 Chevy 1500s that they gave away, almost. It was complete with a 5.3 that pinged on 87 octane, a tach that made a grinding noise, poor fitting headliner, a popping noise when turning right because the bushing between cab/frame was bad at around 10,000 miles, all street. It also had a load noise when shifting from 1 to 2, low throttle. The dealership installed a second headliner, no better, and they messed up the install of the crappy plastic pieces. The two tone paint was less then perfect, and I cut my finger on the bed rail where they left somewhere sharp. No more red tag specials for me!

Posted by: TRX 4 Tom "Someday the people that own a Ford are going to want an automobile"-John Dodge | Jan 3, 2014 8:03:33 PM

So give us some heavy incentives GM! I'm ready to buy my new sled!

Posted by: Ryan | Jan 3, 2014 8:09:51 PM

F650/750 is not F-series. Take away the F450 and F550 sales as PUTC has done in past ultimate guides to sales and Ford will still sell way more. Ram also sells trucks in the 4500/5500 classes. Do you know why GM doesn't sell in this class? Because they went bankrupt and are not truck leaders like Ford and Ram are now.

Posted by: D | Jan 3, 2014 8:10:37 PM

@ Jason

To extend what D said, the Silverado and Sierra numbers also include the HD variants just like the Ford and Ram do.

Posted by: ALL1 | Jan 3, 2014 8:13:36 PM

Ford big incentives might be their plan to sale all their older trucks so they will have more room for the new trucks. Gm still had a lot of 2013 truck on lots and not many of their 2014 trucks which hurt their2014 truck.

Posted by: dropped ford | Jan 3, 2014 8:19:31 PM

The 4500-5500 argument comes up a lot but it doesn't affect sales rankings. The problem is GM thought it was better to go bankrupt, and sell a crappy Colorado than make 4500, 5500's, continually update the full-sizes, vans, the list goes on and on. On the other hand, instead of doing a new Ranger, Ford went with a new Transit and invested in the full-size trucks. Ram invested in its vans and the full-sizes. It's GM's own fault if they aren't selling more Silverados and sales are declining each month when they should be going up.

Posted by: D | Jan 3, 2014 8:19:55 PM

@ethan,

"the answer is clear.
We see what the Clear-cut go-to choice is for consumers. Not only does the ford F-series have class leading options and technology, and reliability. The F-series truck also delivers earth shattering Performance compared to its competitors."

So with Toyota being the world's largest automaker and seller, I guess the same can be said about Toyota's products as the clear choice for consumers around the globe, etc...

By the way the reliability of the F-150 is not better than the Toyota Tundra and definently not better than the segment leader in reliability, thye Tacoma! Ever wonder why it has the best re-sale among ALL vehicles!

Posted by: expedition | Jan 3, 2014 8:19:59 PM

Ford sold around 21k 450 and chassie cab trucks in 2010. If you feel sorry for GM that they don't/can't/will not sell trucks in those classes, spot the Silvy an extra 20k chassie trucks and it still doesn't change a thing in the rankings.

Posted by: D | Jan 3, 2014 8:26:08 PM

@DT
Thank you.

Posted by: zviera | Jan 3, 2014 8:36:34 PM

@cdn dodge ram owner

Please note me earlier posts, this has been beat to death. TOP FUEL DOES NOT RUN A CHRYSLER HEMI. They run a custom built big block engine thay has a hemispherical combustion chamber. Top fuel engines share about as much with a Chrysler hemi as a spark shares with a ZR1 engine.

If they are the best why are they solidly in third place? GM doesn't even have full roll out yet of all their models.

The only reason people bash dodge is because of their owners, comprende?

What the hey! Tundra should be positive NOT negative. Fix it buddy boy.

Posted by: Cooper | Jan 3, 2014 9:47:45 PM

Getting access to Chrysler's cash and industrial scale is critical to Marchionne's expansion plan for the Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, designed to help Fiat's idling Italian plants export their way out of trouble.

Fiat is caught in an awkward balance: on one hand it seems committed to remaining an Italian national champion company, but on the other it’s absolutely dependent on U.S. consumers. If Jeep, Dodge and Ram lose their American appeal under Italian management, Fiat goes over a cliff. But if Fiat-Chrysler were to rationalize as a Western Hemisphere-based-and-focused company, leaving its high-cost European overcapacity behind, Italy itself might well go over a cliff. If nothing else, this ambiguity will plague the company’s culture, as happened during the so-called Daimler-Chrysler “marriage of equals.”

If you add up the total numbers, there were more total trucks sold during December in 2012. The only gainers in 2013 were F-series, RAM, Frontier and Ridgeline (barely).

Sucks to be the product planner at GM with the newest truck out there.

Posted by: hr206 | Jan 4, 2014 12:50:06 AM

@Big Al from Oz
"f you guys can get the global Ranger with the US spec'd 3.2 diesel to compete against the US Colorado would really be great. The global Ranger and BT50 sibling are a notch above and the VW Amarok is also better."

They all would be dumbed down "Lifestyle Vehicles" in the US and basically competing on fuel economy not overall dynamics.

Posted by: Robert Ryan | Jan 4, 2014 1:14:14 AM

@Don,
'"but on the other it’s absolutely dependent on U.S. consumers"
That is why Sergio wants to turn it into a Global company, like Toyota, VW not that dependent on one country.

Posted by: Robert Ryan | Jan 4, 2014 1:17:48 AM

Wanted the Dodge Ram, bought a new Ford F-150 instead cause of the discounts and rebates and was treated better by the Ford Dealer,, Not excited about my F-150, but I love my Ford Dealer, he gives me everything for free! He even sent me a Christmas Card (its the only Christmas Card I got)

Posted by: Tom | Jan 4, 2014 2:05:05 AM

Tom, any good dealer sends out Christmas cards to his customers, it helps with repeat business.

Posted by: george | Jan 4, 2014 6:27:43 AM

What if you spent a pile of cash reinventing your bread and butter cash cow and nobody noticed? Didn't that happen to the Malibu too? Maybe it's time for some new blood at GM.